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Magma storage and diking revealed by GPS and InSAR geodesy at Pacaya volcano, Guatemala

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Abstract

GPS measurements from a campaign network at Pacaya volcano, Guatemala, occupied from 2009 to 2015 were combined with InSAR data from 2013 to 2014 to model deformation sources for two eruptive time periods: 2009–2011 and 2013–2014. The GPS data for both of these time periods show downward vertical and outward horizontal deformation greater than 25 cm at several stations surrounding the volcano, while InSAR data shows up to 15-cm line-of-sight displacement. To better understand the dynamics of the magma storage system and sources of deformation, we inverted available geodetic data for these two periods. Our analytical modeling suggests that horizontal deformation was dominated by inflation of a shallow, subvertical dike, high within the volcanic edifice, while deflation of a deeper, spherical source embedded below the NW flank of the volcano occurred during at least part of the observation period. The source parameters for the dike feature are in good agreement with the observed alignment of recent eruptive vents, while parameters for the deeper, spherical source accommodate the downward vertical deformation observed at stations on and around the volcano.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Chuck Demets at UW Madison for the advice on GPS, Dr. Peter LaFemina and Andres Gorki Ruiz Paspuel at Penn State for thoughtful discussions and GPS analysis, Brianna Hetland for collecting some of these data, INSIVUMEH, Park Police, and local guides in Guatemala for field support. The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers and assistant editor Dr. Sylvie Vergniolle for their work and input to improve the quality of this manuscript.

Funding

UNAVCO provided some equipment; Lechner was partially supported by UNAVCO/COCONet grant EAR-1042906 and NSF grants 0530109 and 1053794. Dr. Wauthier was supported by grants NNX17AD70G and NNX16AK87G issued through NASA’s Science Mission Directorates Earth Science Division.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI, 49931-1295, USA

    Hans N. Lechner, Gregory P. Waite & Rudiger Escobar-Wolf

  2. Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 503 Deike Bldg., University Park, PA, 16801, USA

    Christelle Wauthier

  3. Institute for Cyberscience, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA

    Christelle Wauthier

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  1. Hans N. Lechner
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Correspondence to Hans N. Lechner.

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Editorial responsibility: S. Vergniolle

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Fig. S1

One-dimensional marginal probability density functions for the McTigue (labeled “a”) and Okada labeled (labeled “b”), two-source models for Time-Period-A. Shaded area represents the 95% confidence intervals. (JPG 145 kb)

Fig. S2

One-dimensional marginal probability density functions for the McTigue (labeled “a”) and Okada labeled (labeled “b”), two-source models for Time-Period-B. Shaded area represents the 95% confidence intervals. (JPG 150 kb)

Fig. S3

Two-dimensional marginal probability density functions for TBA. Gray shaded regions indicate the contours of the misfit values with a contour interval 0.2 time the maximum value. Axis label abbreviations and units are as follows. P0: Pressure gradient of sphere (MPa), D1: depth of sphere (m), E1: easting (UTM) of sphere (× 105 m), N1: northing (UTM) of sphere (× 106 m), U: opening of dike feather (m), W: width of dike opening (m), L length of dike opening (m), S°: strike of dike, D°: dip of dike, E2: easting UTM of lower left corner of dike (× 105 m), N2: northing of lower left corner of dike (× 105 m), D2: depth of lower left corner of dike (m) (JPG 165 kb)

Fig. S4

Two-dimensional marginal probability density functions for TBB. Gray shaded regions indicate the contours of the misfit values with a contour interval 0.2 time the maximum value. Axis label abbreviations and units are as follows. P0: Pressure gradient of sphere (MPa), D1: depth of sphere (m), E1: easting (UTM) of sphere (× 105 m), N1: northing (UTM) of sphere (x 106m), U: opening of dike feather (m), W: width of dike opening (m), L length of dike opening (m), S°: strike of dike, D°: dip of dike, E2: easting UTM of lower left corner of dike (x 105m), N2: northing of lower left corner of dike (x 105m), D2: depth of lower left corner of dike (m) (JPG 164 kb)

Fig. S5

Map view of our modeled spherical dike sources for both TPA and TPB compared to those modeled by Wnuk and Wauthier (2017). Gray features represent the models from this study. Red features represent the model presented by Wnuk and Wauthier. Red rectangles indicate 95% confidence areas. Green rectangles with double black line indicate 95% confidence areas for time-period A. Blue rectangles with hash outline represent 95% confidence areas for time-period B. Confidence areas for dike features modeled in this work represent X and Y position of lower left corner. (JPG 176 kb)

Table S1

(XLSX 17 kb)

Table S2

Acquisition dates for interferograms used in this study (DOCX 12 kb)

Table S3

Best fit parameters and 95% confidence intervals for TPB in this study compared to those from Wnuk and Wauthier (2017). (DOCX 16 kb)

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Lechner, H.N., Wauthier, C., Waite, G.P. et al. Magma storage and diking revealed by GPS and InSAR geodesy at Pacaya volcano, Guatemala. Bull Volcanol 81, 18 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-019-1277-x

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